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Greater Rhea
The largest bird on the American continent, the greater rhea (Rhea americana) belongs to a group of flightless birds known as ‘ratites’, which lack the keel of the breastbone to which the flight muscles attach in flying birdss. However, despite a superficial resemblance - which led Charles Darwin to describe the species as a “South American ostrich” - the rhea is not thought to be closely related to the other members of this group, the ostrich, emu, cassowaries and kiwis. The plumage of the greater rhea is generally greyish-brown, with darker patches on the neck and upper back, and whitish feathers on the thighs and abdomen. During the breeding season, a prominent black ring develops at the base of the neck. The greater rhea’s feathers, not needed for flight, are long and plume-like, and the grey legs are long and powerful, with strong toes, and are adapted for running and for ranging over large distances. Rheas have a deep, resounding call, which resembles the roar of a mammal more than the call of a bird. Mainly produced by the male during courtship, the sound of this call gives the rhea its local name, “ñandú”. The male greater rhea is slightly larger and greyer in colour than the female, with a more pronounced dark patch on the neck and upper back. Young birds are greyish, with dark stripes. Five subspecies of greater rhea are recognised, based on variations in size and in the extent of black on the neck, although the exact characteristics and ranges of several of these subspecies are tentative. The greater rhea can be distinguished from the other rhea species, the lesser rhea (Rhea pennata), by its longer legs, lack of white spotting on the plumage, the more greyish than brownish colouration, and feathering on the legs which does not go below the tarsal joint. Gallery Greater-rhea-walking.jpg GreaterRhea.jpg Adult-female-greater-rhea-walking.jpg Rio 2 Rhea.png|Rio 2 (2014) GDG Rhea.png Swan-princess2-disneyscreencaps.com-6414.jpg ANA Rhea.png Star meets Greater Rhea.png Nandu top desktop.jpg Avians by SameerPrehistorica.jpg South American megafauna by SameerPrehistorica.jpg Millwakue County Zoo Rhea.png MMHM Rhea.png Books F9314CAC-29FF-4B15-93EA-20D2DAD0F442.jpeg F51D5443-5DA9-47DB-9152-851CF7906CB7.jpeg D3298396-CCA5-4540-B08B-5E8E07E1A3B5.jpeg 8A8ABB0D-19F3-432A-971B-7847B9EB72FA.jpeg 93AE0931-92F8-4F54-88ED-8A606C920744.jpeg 4E7BAA85-46EA-4B00-A1FE-7B98242FC4C0.jpeg 7029C2AE-19B5-4B70-8538-BFDA0CFE7351.jpeg C7EC407D-1660-4628-89BB-B5024D26EA14.jpeg 2A88EBB2-24C7-5D06-06AB-37D5A2FD902A.jpeg See Also * Ostrich * Emu * Lesser Rhea * Southern Cassowary * Northern Cassowary * Dwarf Cassowary * Great Spotted Kiwi * Southern Brown Kiwi * Great Tinamou * Elegant Crested Tinamou Category:Characters Category:Animals Category:South American Animals Category:Birds Category:Ratites Category:Rio Animals Category:Kolmården Wildlife Park Animals Category:Omnivores Category:Detroit Zoo Animals Category:Bronx Zoo Animals Category:National Zoo Animals Category:Reid Park Zoo Animals Category:Henry Vilas Zoo Animals Category:Abilene Zoo Animals Category:Audubon Zoo Animals Category:Beardsley Zoo Animals Category:Turtle Back Zoo Animals Category:Greater Vancouver Zoo Animals Category:Santa Ana Zoo Animals Category:Palm Beach Zoo Animals Category:Montgomery Zoo Animals Category:Sequoia Park Zoo Animals Category:Go Diego Go Animals Category:Jose and the Lion Gods Animals Category:Age of Empires Animals Category:Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil Animals Category:Eye Wonder Animals Category:Birds (Eye Wonder) Animals Category:Rio 2 Animals Category:The Animal Atlas Animals Category:100 Most Feared Creatures Animals Category:DK Encyclopedia Of Animals Animals Category:The Swan Princess Animals Category:Aardvarks Disembark Animals Category:My Life as a Teenage Robot Animals Category:Invader Zim Animals Category:101 Animal Records Animals Category:Almost Naked Animals Animals Category:Nature Series Animals Category:Animals of South America Animals Category:Homer Almighty Animals Category:Usborne World Wildlife Animals Category:Usborne World Wildlife: Grassland Wildlife Animals Category:Tap Zoo Animals Category:Over 100 Questions and Answers to Things You Want to Know Animals Category:Birds (Over 100 Questions and Answers to Things You Want to Know) Animals Category:The Bird Atlas Animals Category:Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies Animals Category:The Old Testament Animals